The dramatic sunset, the sky’s colours swirled from dark blue through aquamarine pale to saffron yellow before an explosion of crimson and scarlet. Her head felt like she was swimming in a rainbow but the real intoxication came from the night-blossoming fragrance of jessamine. Was she drunk or in love?

Speaking of poetry, I live in an area of Dublin city called The Liberties. It is the oldest part of the city and it’s on the edge of the old, medieval, city walls. It was where the native Irish lived and part of it is where the first Danish settlement began, more than a 1,000 years ago. The Liberties has a great history and my Bells of St Patrick’s is one of the poems for the collection. I have four written since I started this project last week and now I’m completely preoccupied with it.